Prevalence of Smoking in Diabetic Patients
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Authors
Carmona, Anna
Issue Date
2025-05
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Description/Abstract
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2019, six percent of adults with diabetes were 65 or older were current smokers, and 51.9% of adults with diabetes who were 18 to 44 years old were current smokers. The excessive amount of smokers with diabetes has raised concern in individuals between the ages 40-65 due to the negative effects it can cause on the physical health. Previous research on the relationship between smoking and diabetes mellitus has shown no difference between genders, and the dramatic lifestyle changes that this disease requires has led to poor self-management. In addition, the continuous act of smoking can lead to hospital readmissions and comorbidities, such as foot ulcers or circulatory issues. These previous research studies experienced limitations, which caused the need for more information on diabetic smokers.
To conduct this study, a retrospective chart review was used to collect data from an acute care facility in Western North Carolina, using an Excel spreadsheet. The smoking status, gender, age, and circulatory comorbidities were collected to answer the research question. The total sample consisted of 100 participants who had a medical diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. The findings of the study showed that there were more smokers (51%) than nonsmokers (49%) with diabetes. Additional findings on the data collected, indicated that there were more female smokers (N = 32) than men (N = 19), and the average number of circulatory comorbidities was 3 (SD = 1.8). These findings provide support for patient education to become the most significant factor to help reduce the prevalence of smoking in individuals diagnosed with diabetes mellitus.